New Ulm weekly review., 1887-08-31

CHAs. i. RoOs. Managing Editor
Wednesday, August 81, 1887.
Aswell-known writer on labor topics,
Mr.. a. D, Grisby, of St. Paul, recently
gave it as his opinion that the emanci-
patton of labor from its thraldom to
the tsunearned increment of wealth
does not depend entirely on political
action, and that for this reason the
seeming antagonism between the fol-
lowers of Henry George and the Union
Labor Party will be productive OF much
good by the discussions attendant on It..
While the interests of the wage class
and the farmer class often seem to
clash. it cannot be denied that a politi-
cal movement, to be successful, must
have the support Of both these classes.
No ene-idea platform fills the bill. The
natural remedy for the wrongs Of both
classes, in the opinion Of Mr.. Grisby, is
universal system of industrial Co
operation, and no political labor plat
form yet adopted is calculated to secure
the results that would naturally flow
from such a system. The two labor
parties are nevertheless doing a great
work for the toiling millions by. direct
ing attention to the great question OF
the day. The United Labor Party pro-
poses a single tax on. land values; the
Union Labor Party, a graded tax on
these values, with government control
of railroads, telegraphs, issues OF mon
ey, etc. From the census OF 1880 it is
learned that the unearned increment of
the nation is 1928, 900, 100000, and on
this we pay.six per cent. per. annum as
a tax on labor, yet the average increase
on taxable property has never been
more than per cent. It is only
question of time when underXthe pres
ent system::t the holders.of this unearned
increment will possess all the property.
The system is based on both money and
land monopoly, the lattersbeing a, nat
ural sequence of the former; such a
system can but entail endless
evils. AS to the remedies, Mr.. GrisbY
holds that single..tax on land, as pro-
posed by Henry George, will not en-
tirely undo the evil if the present debt
creating financial policy is continued.
Land limitation and the naturalization
of all lands now held for speculation
are the remedies Mr.. Grisby proposes
for land monopoly. The sing lie tax on
land would leave the farmer just where
he is now, the victim Of the money len
der, the railroad, the miller and the
packer, and he could not support
platform containing that idea alone.
The true remedy for his ills is govern
ment control of railroads, whereby the
same principle employed in transmits
sion Of mails could be used. This
would regulate the value of land on the
banks of it's fertility and not on its dis
tances from the market, as now. Join
with this remedy the return of the pub
lie domain to the people as a sacred le-
gacy for actual settlers, and the prob
lem is solved. Then. too, the govern
ment should issue the money directly
to the people on good security, instead
Of to the banks, as now In short, con.
troll the currency and the railroads, SO
as to drive from them all unnecessary
revenues and abolish all other forms of
taxation. On this platform, Mr.. Grisby
holds, both the wage-earner and the
farmer could unite. and coin, while the
work Of reform would be completed by
industrial cooperation.